A satellite communication system can include a satellite that links gateway terminals with user terminals. The gateway terminals can provide an interface with a network such as the Internet or a public switched telephone network. Each gateway terminal typically services a number of user terminals located in one or more spot beams. Improved system capacity can be obtained by reusing the same frequencies in different spot beams. However, to reuse the same frequencies requires that spot beams be sufficiently separated to avoid interference. This can place limitations on the overall system capacity that can be achieved.